The Kansas City Chiefs have basically nothing left to accomplish. They won the last Super Bowl and the Super Bowl before that. They’ve won their division every year since 2015, and they haven’t finished below .500 since 2012. Their tight end is dating the most famous living American. Life is good.
How, then, do you stay motivated ahead of a season where you’ll be chasing history? If you’re quarterback Patrick Mahomes, you play with the limits of what is possible in an American football game.
Mahomes has been doing that his entire career, but on Wednesday he threatened to take things up a notch by dialing up a behind-the-back pass to running back Carson Steele during the Chiefs’ minicamp.
The two-time MVP feigned taking off running before firing a basketball-style pass in Steele’s direction, which the UCLA product deftly caught with one hand.
Mahomes previously has talked about unleashing the behind-the-back pass in a game—and he has the approval of Chiefs coach Andy Reid.
“Coach Reid wants me to throw it behind-the-back more than anyone in the world,” Mahomes said on a First Things First appearance in May. “He deliberately puts in plays that when I have the opportunity to throw it. It’s not a coaching thing, it’s me not having that confidence to do it in the game. One of these games, man. We gotta do it. There’s too much hype in it. Hopefully it’s to Travis [Kelce].”
Kansas City opens its season on Sept. 5 against the Baltimore Ravens. We’ll see whether the pass comes with it.
The entire AFC is chasing the Kansas City Chiefs. Last week, some teams closed the gap during the 2024 NFL draft. Others saw it only grow wider.
But which teams did the best? Which added the most potential while also finding immediate starters? And, conversely, who failed to find enough help, making them vulnerable?
We analyzed and ranked all 16 of the AFC draft classes, going from least-inspiring to most.
16. Tennessee Titans
Tennessee did a nice job picking up OT JC Latham in the first round to bolster its offensive line, but the rest of the draft was underwhelming. The Titans gambled big on DT T’Vondre Sweat despite his off-field concerns, and then selected three linebackers as the rounds clicked off. Not enough upside.
15. Buffalo Bills
The Bills traded back twice in the first round before ultimately selecting WR Keon Coleman with the first pick of the second round. Buffalo then decided to pass on a litany of other talented wideouts, instead loading up on the offensive line with four picks. The Day 2 choices of S Cole Bishop and DT DeWayne Carter were their best.
14. Jacksonville Jaguars
With a big need at cornerback, the Jaguars chose to select Thomas with their first pick.
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Jacksonville had the opportunity to draft any corner in the draft, but traded back to hoard picks. Fair enough. However, the Jaguars then took WR Brian Thomas Jr. instead of addressing a major need. Afterwards, Jacksonville took a kicker and a reserve running back, passing on more high-upside talent. Not awful, but not great.
13. Cleveland Browns
The Browns were once again without their first-round pick as a result of the disastrous Deshaun Watson deal, which gets hilariously worse by the year. Cleveland’s first pick came Friday, when it took a high-upside defensive end in Michael Hall Jr. despite his lack of statistics at Ohio State. Down the board, the Browns finished the draft with three defensive players, hoping to find depth.
12. Denver Broncos
If Bo Nix turns out to be a quality quarterback, my team grade is going to look silly. If he’s not, the Broncos are going to be spinning their wheels for the next few years. The Broncos were also without a second-round pick before taking edge rusher Jonah Elliss and receiver Troy Franklin in the middle rounds. Not a bad haul, but everything hinges on the 24-year-old quarterback.
11. Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins decided to go for an edge rusher in the first round, selecting Penn State’s Chop Robinson to bolster depth after injuries to Bradley Chubb and Jaelen Phillips. In the second round, general manager Chris Grier took Miami’s future left tackle in Patrick Paul, a three-year starter at Houston. On Day 3, the Dolphins took another running back in Jaylen Wright. An intriguing class.
10. Houston Texans
The Texans didn’t have a first-round pick after trading back with the Minnesota Vikings, but they still had a nice haul. Houston got a pair of defensive backs on Day 2 with CB Kamari Lassiter and S Calen Bullock, before getting great value in Ohio State TE Cade Stover. Ultimately, Houston added a few potential starters plus depth.
9. Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati loaded up in the trenches, while also taking a pair of boom-or-bust SEC prospects. The Bengals used three of their first four picks on offensive and defensive linemen, including Georgia’s Amarius Mims in the first round. Mims is incredibly talented, but only started eight games for the Bulldogs. In the third round, Cincinnati gambled on WR Jermaine Burton, who has great film but character-driven red flags.
8. New York Jets
Protecting Aaron Rodgers was the top priority for the Jets, who picked Fashanu in the first round.
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The Jets started strong by taking OT Olu Fashanu to lock down the left side for years to come. However, after not having a pick in the second round due to the Aaron Rodgers trade, New York took a pair of running backs. The Jets also took WR Malachi Corley, a 215-pounder who can create yards after the catch. It was an offensively driven class with upside.
7. Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs hit on their two biggest needs in the first two rounds, trading up for WR Xavier Worthy and OT Kingsley Suamataia. On Day 3, Kansas City found quality value in S Jaden Hicks and CB Kamal Hadden, upgrading an already strong secondary despite the loss of L’Jarius Sneed in a trade with the Titans.
6. Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore made an already strong roster even better, utilizing all three days of the draft. After getting good value at No. 30 with CB Nate Wiggins, the Ravens continued to take ready-made contributors in edge rusher Adisa Isaac, OT Roger Rosengarten and WR Devontez Walker, along with an intriguing talent in CB TJ Tampa.
5. Indianapolis Colts
The Colts understood their assignment going into the draft. They had to make second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson comfortable, and that appears to have been achieved. GM Chris Ballard landed receivers Adonai Mitchell and Anthony Gould along with a pair of mid-round offensive linemen. Indianapolis also added to its pass rush with edge Laiatu Latu, a potential star off the edge.
4. New England Patriots
The Patriots drafted a pair of receivers after selecting Maye with the third pick in the first round.
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New England did exactly what it needed to in the draft. The Patriots resisted the temptation to trade back and took Drake Maye as their next franchise quarterback. Then they spent the rest of the draft surrounding him with an improved offense ranging from receivers Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, to a pair of offensive linemen in Caeden Wallace and Layden Robinson.
3. Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders were patient, and that paid off. Instead of trading up into the top 10 for a quarterback, veteran GM Tom Telesco stayed at No. 13 and tabbed TE Brock Bowers. On the second day, Telesco upgraded the offensive front with G Jackson Powers-Johnson and OT Delmar Glaze out of Maryland. The Raiders still need a quarterback, but when they find him, he’ll be in a better spot.
2. Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers needed to find talent across the board in this class after losing receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, among others. To that end, Los Angeles nabbed Notre Dame OT Joe Alt at No. 5 before trading up for WR Ladd McConkey in the second round. On Day 3, the choices of CB Cam Hart and WR Brenden Rice represent great value.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers
Fautanu will likely start at tackle for the Steelers.
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Nobody in either conference had a better draft than GM Omar Khan and the Steelers. Pittsburgh found a litany of offensive linemen who could start soon between OT Troy Fautanu, C Zach Frazier and G Mason McCormick. Then there’s the third-round choices of WR Roman Wilson and LB Payton Wilson, both excellent values. Home run stuff from Pittsburgh.
The Kansas City Chiefs are among the first teams to publicly discuss schematic changes in the wake of the NFL’s new kickoff rules for 2024. They likely won’t be the last.
The league’s revised kickoff rules, approved by NFL owners back in March, generated a storm of controversy during its public reception. As part of the new format, kickers may be expected to defend the kickoff return more often, a wrinkle which has given Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub some food for thought.
Rather than use kicker Harrison Butker for all kickoffs this upcoming season, Toub said the team was considering employing a different player in the interest of Butker’s long-term health.
“I like to have somebody that can go back, is able to make a tackle,” Toub said on Thursday. “Butker is able to make a tackle, but I really don’t want him making tackles all year long. If you watch the XFL—we watched every play—I bet kickers were involved in probably at least 25 to 40 percent of the tackles… So we don’t want Butker in that situation.”
The #Chiefs have considered not using Harrison Butker for all kickoffs and instead using a player like safety Justin Reid.
Special teams coordinator Dave Toub said the new kickoff rule has kickers more involved in tackles, and they don't want that for Butker.
Toub compared Butker to safety Justin Reid, who Toub believed could be a bigger difference-maker in kickoffs.
“Justin [Reid] can cover, he can kick, he can go down there and make tackles,” Toub said. “He’s an extra guy that they’re probably not accounting for. A guy like Justin is a guy they have to worry about.”
Butker ranks behind only Justin Tucker as the second-most accurate kicker in NFL history and just capped off his seventh season in Kansas City, in which he connected on 33-of-35 field goals (a career high 94.3%) and was perfect on extra point attempts.
Earlier this month, Butker faced heavy backlash stemming from controversial comments he made during a college commencement speech.
It’s no surprise why the Chiefs would want to keep their star kicker healthy throughout the upcoming season as the team makes its bid for a historic three-peat. The radically changed, hybrid kickoff format is intended to incentivize more returns, though it comes at the cost of increased risk of injury for the kickers, among other variables. The new format will receive a one-year trial and be reevaluated after the 2024-25 season.
Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce has long been a man of the people, from his zealous “fight for your right” post-AFC title win quote to his act of shotgunning a beer at a faux Cincinnati graduation ceremony.
The three-time Super Bowl champ further cemented his reputation as one of the country’s most lovable celebrities and was full of jokes during the Chiefs’ second consecutive White House visit on Friday. While it’s customary for the reigning Super Bowl winners to be honored at the White House, it’s nearly unheard of for an NFL player to take the podium and give an individual speech to the audience during the ceremony.
One year after Kelce hilariously tried to take over the mic at last summer’s White House ceremony, the Chiefs tight end was welcomed by President Joe Biden himself to say a few words.
“Travis, come here,” President Biden said. “It’s all you, pal.”
“My fellow Americans,” Kelce said, “it’s nice to see you all yet again. I’m not gonna lie, President Biden, they told me if I came up here I’d get tased so I’m going to go back to my spot, alright?”
The celebrations took a somber turn later in the ceremony, when Biden brought up the deadly shooting at the Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade in February.
“But then, [as] Kansas City was celebrating your incredible win, we saw pride give way to tragedy,” Biden said. “Amid the chaos this team stepped up … This team is exceptional. As a country, we have to do more to stop the tragic shootings before they happen.”
